West Coast Ports: Retail’s $7 Billion Problem

CNBC

09 February 2015

To mitigate the impact of the costly West Coast ports congestion, a number of retailers have begun to shift shipments to East Coast ports or are buying extra inventory in advance, said Frank Layo, a retail and supply chain expert at Kurt Salmon. Others, including fast-fashion retailers, are turning to air freight for short-term solutions.

Unfortunately, Layo adds that retailers can absorb rerouting-related costs for only so long. “We’re expecting [considerably higher costs] to hit retailers in calendar year 2016 in a major way, and I would expect that would result in higher costs for consumers by the end of next year.”